Bread of Life

Throughout Armenia, chefs and restaurateurs are celebrating the country's culinary heritage and history

- CAROLINE EDEN

I FIRST TASTED lavash in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, at a restaurant named after the flatbread. Bakers rolled out huge ovals of thin dough, slapped them against the wall of a clay oven called a tonir, and, after leaving them inside for a minute, pulled out delightfully blistered bread. Pliable and paper-thin, lavash in Armenia is ubiquitous and versatile: For lunch, it can be stuffed with cheese and pickled vegetables; for dinner, it is often served with barbecued meat called khorovats, the smell of which perfumes almost every street corner in Yerevan. Mine came with an omelet topped with blades of tarragon an ideal summer brunch.

Though lavash was added to UNESCO's List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage a decade ago, Armenian food has yet to break onto the global scene in the same way as the cuisine of neighboring Georgia. There are similarities, but Armenian fare is distinctly its own, combining the flavors of the South Caucasus (think heady wines, preserved local fruits, and exceptional dairy) with recipes from Armenians who have long resided in nearby Iran, Syria, and Lebanon.

To taste this heritage, stroll through Yerevan to find cafés with herb-filled flatbreads called jingalov hats ("bread" in Armenian, pronounced "hots"); bakeries with gata, a cake that pairs well with afternoon coffee; and bars with complex red wines from the nearby Ararat Valley. And on every table, always fresh lavash.